Milking apparatus.



PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906'.

P. ANDERSEN. MILKING APPARATUS. APBLIOATIOA 11.31) NOY 3,1905.

2 SI-IEBTS SHBBT 1.

Znuen'tar PATENTED JUNE 12. 1906. P. ANDERSEN.

MILKING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED Roma. 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 2 UNITED srATns PATENT OFFICE.

PETER ANDERSEN, F LANGDRATHOF, HADERSLEBEJ, GERii IAXY.

1 ,TMILKING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

latented June 12, 1906.

1'0 all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, PETER ANDERSEN, a subject of the German Einperorfresiding' at Langdrathof, Hadersleben, in the Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Milking Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in milking-machines in which a separate and independent pump is provided to extract ,milk from each teat of the cow or other animalpperated upon.

ThlS invention resides in improvements .upon the apparatus disclosed and broadly claimed in the British Patent N 0. 6,043, granted to me March 31, 1900; and the objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a satisfactory teat-cup which will milk efficiently under varying conditions without injury to the cow, and, second, to enable ad ju'stment of the pumping force to be made so as to vary it in degreeaccording as may be found suitable for different cows or even for the different teats of the same cow.

It is a matter-of common knowledge that j the teats of a cows udder frequently differ as regards the amount of and that different cows vary considerably as to the ease With which they can be milked, also that serious injury may be done to a cow if it is either not completely milked or if suction is continued on a teat which is empty. Cows may even be wholly spoiled as regards the giving of milk by wrong usage. It is milk they will yield thus of the utmost importance that'a milking-machine should be capable of adjustment to suit the nature and condition of each individual cow.

The objects above mentioned are attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the operation of theparts on the outward stroke of the piston, and Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the operation on the inward stroke of the piston.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the'several views.

The receptacle or bucket A, the cross-bar and brackets 13,. and the uprights D constitute the framework of the machine. In the bearings E turns the four-throw crank-shaft tribes T at the same time that 'tion Y, by which the necessary, and. the sprockct-wlwels F and I are of equal size.

The pumps L and pistons N are substantially the same as are described in the British Patent No. 6,043 of 1900: but in addition thereto I now provide the non-return valve Q and the air-valve R. The action of thepump is also the same, the piston-rod M when moving outward, Fig. 2, drawing the disk P tightly onto the piston N, thus closing the openings S therein and pressing the milk in front of the piston out of the deliverya vacuum is created behind the pistoii which opens the non-return valve Q and extracts milk from the udder along the tube U, connected to the teat-cup V. On the return stroke, Fig. 3, of i the piston-rod the piston comes against the collar 0 on the piston-rod,-leaving the passages S open for the passing of the milk, and the non-return valve depressed by the spring I/V, closes the passage to the teat-cup, and thus retains all the milk within the pump. This non-return valve consists, as shown, of the disk Q, having a spindle attached which.

is guided in a tubular projection on the screwed plug X and is kept pressed on its seat by the spring W. Attached to the side of the non-return valve is an air-valve R, which, in conjunction with the passage Z Z, allows of air being admitted to the tube U. The valve R is provided with a threaded poramount of opening of the passa e Z can be varied.

It will l oe seen upon reversal of the piston, as shown in Fig. 3, the valve will be shut, aided partly by the vacuum in the pipe U and partly by the spring W, and that the passage Z is then the only connection between the pump-barrel and the tube U. But for this passage Z the valve Q would maintain a continuous vacuum in the tube U; but since air can pass the piston on its inward stroke e. as shown in Fig. 3--i t will aiso pass the valve R when open and tend to I'Clillifl) the vacuum r in the tube U, and consequently an alternate rise and fall of the vacuum in the tubes will be produced, which facilitates the act of milking. The amount of air passing can be regulated by the position :of the screw Y. For an easy milking cow the screw is unscrewed to such an extent that as much air as possible can get to the milking-cups, thus diminishing the difierence between the maximum and minimum rarefacti on and resulting in the suction effect being a more gentle one. For a hard milking cow, on the other hand, the screw is kept nearly or it may be quite closed, so givingthe maximum sucking effect. When this suction effect is great, it has been the case that the flexible teat-cups which have mainly been used have contractedbeing made of rubber or of some suchmaterial and have compressed the teat within them, and this contraction has been held to be of advantage to the milking efl'ect. My experiments, however, have shown me that this is not the case, that it is unfavorable to the milking, and that it causes pain to the cow,

and I have much improved this milking apparatus by employing 1nilking-cups V, of metal or other solid material, which do not press on the teats at all, but suck directly on the udder, being quite plain, except that they are rovided at the top with a heading (1 and at 't e bottom with a nipple b, to whichthe flexible milkin -tube U is attached. They are made, pre erably, of thin tinned metal and are thus of but small weight, easier to clean than rubber, and more durable.

Since considerable strength is required in the cu the old forms of rubber were necessarily of great thickness. The smaller size of the metal cups is of advantage in that they can be used on any cow, even with young or small cows, having teats close to one another, and more readily than the rubber ones on a cow having teats projecting from the udder at an angle.

As soon as a teat is emptied by this apparatus theair-screw may be withdrawn, so as to open valve R fully. The milking-cup may then be detached or the milking-tube itself may be detached from the machine.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y 1. In a milking-machine, the combination with a mu le suction-pump having a separate barrel, outlet-tn be, inlet-tube, and teatoup, to each teat of the animal, a piston-rod having a shoulder, a valve secured to the inner end of the rod, and a piston having passages therethrough and working loose on the rodbetween the said shoulder and valve, of

an induction-valve interposed between each barrel and each teat a pliance so that each teat can be separately disconnected from the pump by disconnectin the inlet-tube.

2. In a milking-mac 'ne, the combination with a multiple suction-pump having a separate barrel, outlet-tube, inlet-tube, and teatcup, to each teat of the animal, a dpiston-rod havinga shoulder, a valve secure ner .end of the IOd,&l1d a piston having passages therethrough and working loose on the rod between the said shoulder and valve, of an induction-valve interposed between each barrel and each teat a pliance, and a passage past the induction-Va ve establishing a connection betweenthe inlet-tube and the barrel, for the purpose of rendering the suction effect intermittent.

3. In a milking-machine, the combination with a multiple suction-pump having a separate barrel, outlet-tube, inlet-tube, and teatcup to each teat of the animal, a iston-rod having a shoulder, a valve secure to the inner end of the rod, and a piston having passa es therethrough and working loose on the ror l between the said shoulder and valve, of

to. the inan induction-valve interposed between each barrel and each teat appliance, a passage past the induction-valve establishin a connection between the inlet-tube am? the barrel, and a regulating-valve in said passage whereby the suction on the teat is reduced onthe return stroke of the piston and an intermittenf action produced on each teat independent y.

4. In a cow-milker, the combination of a multiple suction-pump having a separate barrel, outlet-tube, inlet-tube, and teat-cup to each teat of the animal, a (piston-rod having a shoulder, a valve secure to the inner end of the rod, a piston working loose on the rod between the said shoulder and valve and hav ing passages parallel with the rod, an induction-valve interposed between each barrel and each teat appliance, a passagepast the induction-valve, a regulating-valve in said passage for regulating the suction on each teat, a multiple-throw crank-shaft, a counter-shaft having a crank-handle, bearings supporting the counter-shaft and elevating the handle, and suitable means for connectin the crank-shaft with the counter-shaft.

n testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER ANDERSEN. Witnesses:

HEINRICH LORENZ THEODOR Manners, CARL Krona. 

